


The gift of selflessness

by V0ID115



Category: Original Work
Genre: Gen, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-04
Updated: 2018-06-04
Packaged: 2019-05-18 00:07:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,057
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14841794
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/V0ID115/pseuds/V0ID115
Summary: Being selfless is not easy, but it's rewarding in its own right.This is not the story of a person on an epic journey nor an aesop about why you should be selfless.It is only the expression of someone who found out that giving is much less of a sacrifice than others make it seem.





	The gift of selflessness

* * *

 

Giving is a selfless act. Whenever you give something, nothing is promised on return. That’s the truth that governs this world.

 

I still remember how it all began. Everyone on the same place, on the same list. Interesting, different people. People with different backgrounds and origins. Different faces and bodies. Powers and prowess. Dreams and goals.

And there I was again. Hidden in the shade by my own behaviour, I slipped under everyone’s radar. No one’s favourite, but no one hated me. Like how I’ve always been. Is it what I wanted? Can’t really answer it. I’m like this because of how I am, but if having people treat me differently means I’d have to be someone else, I choose not to. And so I carried on.

“Please, treat them kindly, okay?”

That’s what I heard when I was passing by. The heralding girl was begging people to give the one who was a loner up to that point, a chance to be their friend.

And that’s what I did.

And so did everyone else.

 

As people slowly flocked toward them, everyone realized they were beautiful. Both inside and outside. They were polite, kind, smart and fun to be around. They were earnest yet knew when to act and when to wait. One of the best companions to had around.

Suddenly, they were the most adored person around. Everyone was their friend, and many wanted to be their lover. I, like many, wanted to be with them too.

I saw them pursue their interests aimlessly. And I followed along.

I saw them praise other people. And I nodded silently.

I saw them smiling like everything was the same. But to me they were more beautiful every day.

I indulged into their whims and their adventures. And I’d always make the most of them.

I called them and they’d smile to me like the sun. Just like they’d do to anyone else.

It was no big deal. I was no one’s favourite, but no one hated me. Yet, no one loved me.

Still, I didn’t follow them wherever they went hoping they’d turn around and notice me. I didn’t nod so they’d think highly of me. I didn’t spend all those hours with them praying I’d become someone special for them.

I spent all those hours with them because they were special to me and I adored spending time with them. Whenever I made them smile, I felt like I just found yet another reason to live. Whenever I found something they’d enjoy, I felt immense joy in seeing them beaming with happiness.

Even if my life was still mine and even if their life was theirs, whenever I was around them, everything felt a little brighter. A little nicer. A litter better.

Still, my life went like it always did. I gave my all to people around me, expecting nothing in return. One could blame destiny or fate for no rewards for my actions, but I knew better than that. If life didn’t give me anything, it was because I did not need it. Of that I was certain, because no matter what, never have I needed something I did not have. I never craved something I needed which would ruin me should I not have.

 

And so, I carried on.

 

Still, the final struggle was finding out what they wanted the most. I brought them novelties, games and variety to their life. I found new places to go and things to do. I found a million things in this and many other worlds, yet none of those gave them what they wanted the most. Still, I never gave up. I went far and wide to gift the one special to me with what they wanted the most.

The days have passed, and the moon changed shape over and over again, yet I found nothing.

Although frustrated, I carried on, until one day, they came to me and looked me in the eyes. At that very moment I found the answer to the damned question: “What does they want the most?”

They wanted the one that would never leave them.

They wanted the one that would go to new worlds unabashedly.

They wanted the one that would not demand something they weren’t ready to give.

They wanted the one that loved them despite any differences in taste between them.

They wanted the one that would never forget about them whenever there was something to do.

They wanted the one that refused to let them feel discouraged and alone.

They wanted the first among many to try and see through appearances.

So I approached them and I gave myself to them. They smiled like I’ve never seen before and promptly gave themselves to me. And I smiled like I’ve never done before.

 

I was so focused in finding new things to show them that I failed to realize that the reason they always looked forward for the gifts were not the gifts themselves, but because they’d be together with the one that brought them.

Every trinket brought.

Every new recipe.

Every new topic.

Every new gag.

They all meant we’d spend more time together. And we realized that’s what we both wanted.

We gave ourselves to each other not because we wanted to be each other’s possessions, but because we realized we loved each other too much to want the other to be anything else other than free.

We realized that we were not perfect for each other because no one is. But we realized that because we wanted to make this work, we’d learn how to make this work.

They respected my pace and I respected theirs. We had different routines and different interests at times. But we could always tag along what the other needed or wanted or knew when to not press on. We knew we were different, but we also knew we were alike. We just made it work.

I don’t know for how long I’ve loved them or for how long they loved me, but I didn’t care.

 

Giving is a selfless act. Whenever you give something, nothing is promised on return. That’s the truth that governs this world.

Those who receive, however, will now have something to give.

And for every drop of love I gave them, they gave me in kind.


End file.
